Vuyiroli - Caring for the elderly in South India

The old man on Chennai station, near Madras, South India was obviously in trouble. Abandoned at the railway station by his family, he was alone, very ill and suffering from a high fever.

Mr. P. Rajkumar was asked if he could help. Ascertaining the old man’s dreadful condition, he called a doctor. But the old man died within the hour. This was the first conscious contact the young elder from Kilpauk Baptist Church had experienced of elderly abandoned people.

In 2001 there were some 77 million people in India aged over 60. By 2013 that figure is expected to have increased to 100 million. 90% of older persons have no social security at age 60. 30% of the elderly live below the poverty line and a further 33% live just above it. 55% of women over 60 are widows, many of them with no support whatsoever.

Arrested and moved by the death of the old man he had met on the station, Rajkumar began to think about what could be done in the name of Christ and because of his love for others who were elderly and destitute among his fellow countrymen and women. In 1999 ‘Vuyiroli’ was started. It is a ministry which seeks to rescue and address the needs of the aged and neglected. ‘Vuyiroli’ is a Tamil word which means ‘Light of life’.

Work began in a small city venue, but in 2006 a purpose-built centre was opened. At present it gives a home, shelter, food and medical care in a Christian environment to 22 abandoned old people.

EN was able to interview P. Rajkumar briefly as he was recently in Britain.

EN: Can you tell us why so many old people are being abandoned in India?

PR: Rapid urbanisation and the struggle for survival have weakened the joint family system. The poor who live in the country, for example, think the cities are rich and if they simply leave their old relatives in the city someone is bound to look after them. But this rarely happens and many elderly people end up begging on the streets. The increasing break-up and dispersal of the nuclear family has pushed the aged in many cases to the streets, alone, neglected and vulnerable. On the streets of Chennai there are probably something like 10,000 abandoned old people. Perhaps 75% of these are uneducated. Many come from downtrodden backgrounds and suffer from alcoholism.

EN: With so many abandoned old people, how do you decide who to try to help?

PR: We concentrate especially on those who are dying or disabled and, as far as we can find out, have no children or relatives who are willing to support them. We take them from the roadside, give them a wash, good food and a rest. We then have a talk to them, telling them about Christ and offering to look after them. Many of those we take in have injuries. There are also specific health problems faced by older people, such as poor eyesight, weak and broken limbs and malnutrition. Asthma and other respiratory problems are common. Psychological and emotional stresses contribute further to the breakdown of their health. Vuryiroli’s programme is based on the United Nation’s principles for older persons, ‘that all have the right to independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity’.

EN: Some states in India have anti-conversion laws and Christians have been accused of bribing poor people into turning to Christ.

PR: There used to be an anti-conversion law in Tamil Nadu but it has been revoked. When you do evangelism you have to be careful. The law says that you should not seek to convert a person by giving them money or things or making false promises. We obviously want our old people to become Christians, but if they don’t we are still happy to look after them. Our desire is not to bribe anyone but simply to show the love of Christ. We have never been accused of bribing people. Our home has been visited and checked by the local authorities and they were quite happy with us.

Let me tell you, for example, about Mr. Natarajan. He is a man of 67 years of age, paralysed, unmarried and suffers from severe asthma. At the age of 60 he became dependent with the onset of paralysis. He was forced to start begging on the railway station. His relatives had forsaken him. At this time a teacher who knew about Vuyiroli’s ministry referred him to us and he joined our home. Vuyiroli has been caring for him for the last four years with the love Christ has shown to the poor. After coming into the home, God opened his heart to know the Lord Jesus Christ personally. He was baptised at Tamil Baptist Church, Kilpauk, in 2005. He is one of the happiest persons at the home in spite of his severe illness.

EN: How do you divide your time?

PR: I am an elder of the Kilpauk Baptist Church and they pay my wages. It has a regular congregation of around 200. I spend 70% of my time working for the church — visiting people, leading meetings and visiting our daughter churches. We have 16 what you would call ‘church plants’. The rest of my time I give to the work of Vuyiroli.

EN: Have you had difficulties in persuading Christians that this kind of caring work is right?

PR: Yes. For some Christians the priority is evangelism. They find it difficult to see how evangelism and social work go together. But through Vuyiroli this has now been accepted by the majority of Christians in Chennai. When someone is dying and in desperate need of practical help which we are able to give, it does not seem right to go directly into sharing the gospel. We feel it is right to help them first and then tell them about the way of salvation.

EN: Tell us more about the Vuyiroli home?

PR: Vuyiroli has changed a lot recently. Originally there were two homes in the slum area of Chennai. They could house about 25 elderly people, but the living conditions were not ideal. Particularly in the monsoon season there could be outbreaks of disease. But we were able to purchase some land in Perungavur village about 20 km from Chennai. It took almost a year and cost 1,450,000 rupees, but we have been able to build a new home for the destitute capable of housing 42 old people. We were able to open this new home on June 3 2006. There are toilets, a well-equipped kitchen and also a small garden where the residents can enjoy fresh air. It costs about £30 a month to provide for each of the residents living there. That is £1 a day. At present we are looking after 22 people, but need support to look after more. There are three staff.

There is also still a home in Chennai. It is called Nithyalaya. It serves as a frontline base in the centre of Chennai; as a rescue centre for destitute people found in the city.

EN: What plans do you have for the future?

PR: We have enough land out at Perungavur village to expand the building so that we could look after 100 old people in need. We would like some long-term sponsors, but also we are wanting to recruit 500 Christians who will commit themselves to praying for the project. We would like to have our own clinic on the site and an ambulance. We also would like some doctors and nurses to get involved with the work on a voluntary basis.

If you want to know more about this work, you can visit http://www.vuyiroli.org or contact Sarti (for the work of Vuyiroli), c/o Ridley Hall Evangelical Church, Broughton Street, London SW8 3RD.